Upper years: First year here, need advice on making friends

[2021loner]

Ok so I'm not a premed and this is the first time I'm coming to these forums actually, but anyways. Class of 2021 here. Going great so far. Only week two, but the more outgoing type people seem to already have formed cliques. The quieter people are hanging out in small pairs or groups of 3 with people that they know from before. I'm an introvert, but I know and am friendly with enough people that I can chat with them before and after lecture, but how on earth do you go from that to hanging out outside of class? How do you move from friendly acquaintances to friends? Especially when those friendly acquaintances are already friends with each other and hang out themselves. I can't insert myself or force-invite myself.

I also know there's other people out there who are feeling a little lonely or isolated but there's no way to find these people because nobody's going to post on Facebook about it (look at me, being anonymous!)

[iFlayx]

Also first year Class of 2021 here!

I honestly think that you could be just overwhelmed at the moment because everything is new. I also don't know anyone in my class previously so everyone was a stranger at first. I've made acquaintances but to say they've become close friends is far from the truth. I think you should give this a bit more time because a lot of the social gatherings and events like interest group meetings, student council, musicals and etc have yet to happen so you will have opportunities meet those with similar interests. Don't force yourself to meet people whom you don't see eye to eye. It's important to find those that share the same passions and interests because that's just how we naturally make friends. 

One thing I like to say is I do believe that it will help if you can always try to take a bit more initiative by going to these social events or perhaps by asking your peers or group members in class to hang out outside of class. I think 99% of med students in first year are always eager to meet new people and make new relationships, especially during the first couple of weeks. I think you will find it harder as time goes by because people will become busier and less open in general. 

[Butterfly_]

Hey there, 

I’m from 2021 too :)! Though I do see a lot of people hanging out in cliques, I also notice that many medical students are quite independent. You should approach those students!

 I for one am someone like that. I tend to go to/from school alone and study alone. I also avoid the typical pack mentality, but I still have made friends!

We hang out mainly outside of school time (once or twice a week) but not really during school due to our differing schedules. 

So what I am trying to get at is, if you see a red backpack walking alone, feel free to go approach them and say hi. I find that students like me are in general open to meeting new people and will be down to be friends with like-minded people. The key is to find someone that has similar ways of thinking or hobbies or some sort of commonality with you. Don’t feel the pressure to be friends with people that you don’t click with or whom you don’t feel comfortable with.

You can also make friends by joining groups and clubs that you’re interested in as mentioned in the previous post. Social media also helps. There are some friends/classmates I mainly chat with on Insta or Facebook.

Good luck with everything and feel free to msg if you need to talk :)

[End Poverty]

On 9/14/2018 at 8:17 AM, Butterfly_ said:

Hey there, 

I’m from 2021 too :)! Though I do see a lot of people hanging out in cliques, I also notice that many medical students are quite independent. You should approach those students!

 I for one am someone like that. I tend to go to/from school alone and study alone. I also avoid the typical pack mentality, but I still have made friends!

We hang out mainly outside of school time (once or twice a week) but not really during school due to our differing schedules. 

So what I am trying to get at is, if you see a red backpack walking alone, feel free to go approach them and say hi. I find that students like me are in general open to meeting new people and will be down to be friends with like-minded people. The key is to find someone that has similar ways of thinking or hobbies or some sort of commonality with you. Don’t feel the pressure to be friends with people that you don’t click with or whom you don’t feel comfortable with.

You can also make friends by joining groups and clubs that you’re interested in as mentioned in the previous post. Social media also helps. There are some friends/classmates I mainly chat with on Insta or Facebook.

Good luck with everything and feel free to msg if you need to talk

 

I am also quite introverted, yet I have made several close friends because I joined activities that I'm interested in and met with people who share similar interests. The best advice I would give is don't be shy and reach out to people and you will make friends.  Don't hesitate to initiative friendships, and eventually you will find people that you like and don't mind being close to 

 

 I go to U of C, so I have been in medical school for 3 months now and over time I interacted a lot with certain people and we became close friends.  You will make friend eventually, just wait until you have to do school work together.. and over time, you will find your group of people

Best of luck